Manufacture Warranties

[Macross]

Hi Guys,

New to the pistol scene and am in the process of getting licensed. Whilst researching and drooling online at all the cool kids toys, I've come across a surprising number of videos and accounts of people having issues straight out of the box with new hand guns.

Most of these are from the states and in all cases they just pack up the gun and ship it back to manufacturer for warranty work.

Has anyone had issues with new firearms out of the box and what happened to resolve the problems. Do you deal with the local dealer or do things have to be shipped back to the states for weeks and I'm guessing, months at a time?

Being limited to a single gun for the first 12 months here in Qld, it would really suck to have said gun on overseas holidays for months if there were any issues.

[No1_49er]

In Australia, the Consumer Guarantee Act makes it the responsibility of the VENDOR to provide the product as "of merchantable quality", i.e. fit for purpose.
Go here: - https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consu ... guarantees
Deal with the vendor (only), and if there is a problem, they are responsible for resolving the problem and if necessary, they must deal with their supplier or the manufacturer.

[JSS]

^^^Agree completely. It also helps if you find a good gunshop who have real customer service in times of need & who aren't just there to take your money.

[Chinballs]

In reality the number of issues that need manufacturer attention is minuscule but anyway....

It depends on the issue. If you buy one of the big brands (Glock, Ruger, S&W) from the bigger importers such as Nioa or Grycol your chance of having to send the gun back to the manufacturer in the US or Europe and waiting months or more is quite small. Generally they will be able to remedy the issue themselves or simply swap it for another gun. Depending on your state you will need a PTA but at least in QLD you can do a like for like transfer through your dealer which just involves a bit of paperwork but no waiting.

If they do need to send the firearm back to the US its not that big an issue in relation to your one gun restriction if you take on simple step. When you send it back to the importer you have to send it via a dealer. Get the dealer to put it into his dealer book before sending it to the importer. When the paperwork is eventually processed by Weapons this will remove it from your license and allow you to buy a different firearm if the wait is going to be months and months (I always double whatever the time the importer estimates it will take lol). You will need to pay for a PTA but that is a small price to pay to actually have a gun you can use.

A massive word of warning: At least as far as S&W go, the importer and local warranty center (Grycol) will not touch any firearm that is a grey import. They run the serial number and if they didn't import it you are s**t out of luck as far as they are concerned. If you buy a grey import you are 100% reliant on the seller and they can be hit or miss. I know the biggest shop in Brisbane imports their own stuff but there may be others as well. I would double check with both the retailer and importer before buying if you are unsure of local support.

This is info gained from working at a pistol club dealing with members issues, interacting with our on site dealer and talking to the owner of Grycol at many matches..

[No1_49er]

In reality the number of issues that need manufacturer attention is minuscule but anyway....

It depends on the issue. If you buy one of the big brands (Glock, Ruger, S&W) from the bigger importers such as Nioa or Grycol your chance of having to send the gun back to the manufacturer in the US or Europe and waiting months or more is quite small. Generally they will be able to remedy the issue themselves or simply swap it for another gun. Depending on your state you will need a PTA but at least in QLD you can do a like for like transfer through your dealer which just involves a bit of paperwork but no waiting.

If they do need to send the firearm back to the US its not that big an issue in relation to your one gun restriction if you take on simple step. When you send it back to the importer you have to send it via a dealer. Get the dealer to put it into his dealer book before sending it to the importer. When the paperwork is eventually processed by Weapons this will remove it from your license and allow you to buy a different firearm if the wait is going to be months and months (I always double whatever the time the importer estimates it will take lol). You will need to pay for a PTA but that is a small price to pay to actually have a gun you can use.

A massive word of warning: At least as far as S&W go, the importer and local warranty center (Grycol) will not touch any firearm that is a grey import. They run the serial number and if they didn't import it you are s**t out of luck as far as they are concerned. If you buy a grey import you are 100% reliant on the seller and they can be hit or miss. I know the biggest shop in Brisbane imports their own stuff but there may be others as well. I would double check with both the retailer and importer before buying if you are unsure of local support.

This is info gained from working at a pistol club dealing with members issues, interacting with our on site dealer and talking to the owner of Grycol at many matches..

The mistake you have made is to suggest "if you have to send it back to the importer". OP does not have to do anything of the sort.
Consumer law requires that if a product is "not fit for purpose (faulty)" the VENDOR is wholly responsible. End of story. It is up to them to get things made good, and if that means a replacement, that's what the law requires. There is simply no effing way that anybody should contemplate having to wait "months and months". I would wait as long as it takes the VENDOR to get a replacement, and if that time-frame was going to be unsatisfactory, REFUND.
And if it is a "grey import", the VENDOR is still wholly responsible.

[Chinballs]

The mistake you have made is to suggest "if you have to send it back to the importer". OP does not have to do anything of the sort.
Consumer law requires that if a product is "not fit for purpose (faulty)" the VENDOR is wholly responsible. End of story.

I was talking in general terms of the gun having to go back to the importer not that the OP would be left to handle things on their own.

I was giving helpful information if the OP's gun has to go back to the manufacturer. Of course the retailer is responsible but at the end of the day its still a firearm on the guy's license and if he wants to buy something else he needs the dealer to put it on their book and remove it from his license before it goes back.

Yes, a refund is the smart option to take in that case but he will still have a firearm on his license he can't use and be unable to buy anything else.

[ob1]

Anyway, I had an expensive STI open gun crack the compensator. Manufacturing issue. The STI distributor replaced it with a new gun. A friend had an STI barrel problem after a few years. Barrel repaced under STI lifetime warranty for defects. Some companies offer better warranties than others. Research the warranty situation before buying, deal with a licensed importer and avoid buying from anyone selling grey imports.